Electric tank water heater



July 8, 1947. G. P. DOWE ELECTRIC TANK WATER HEATER Filed July 16, 1945I ve ntor.

Patented July 8, 1947 ELECTRIC TANK WATER HEATER George P. Dowe,Toronto, Ontario, Canada, assignor to Geo. I. Dowe Company Limited,Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application July 16, 1945, Serial No. 605,265

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in heaters for electricallyheating the water in tanks and principally cylindrical tanks and theprincipal objects of the invention are to provide a heater which may beapplied directly to a tank without the necessity of perforating the tankin any way or of shutting off the water supply to said tank, therebyenabling the heater to be placed in service practically instantaneouslyor as quickly as the wiring of the electric service thereto can be 1effected.

A further object of the invention consists in the novel form of theheater which will enable one or more heaters to be applied to a tank inselected position.

A still further important object is to provide a heater which will applyits heat for the transfer to the water over a large distributing area.

The principal feature of the invention consists in placing an electricheating element in heat transfer relation to the circumferential wall ofa heater tank and further, to devise a sheet metal band to embrace acylindrical tank having a circumferentially arranged pocket adapted tohold a flat electric heating element in close engaging contact with theband to effect the transfer of its heat directly through the band to thetank.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a small elevational viewshowing a tank with my electric heater shown applied thereto.

Figure 2' is an enlarged perspective View of my improved heater shownpartly broken away to illustrate the arrangement of the electric heatingelement therein.

Figure 3 is a plan detail of the electric heating element showing one ofthe insulating sheets partly broken away.

In the electric heating of water it has been customary to use animmersion pipe in which a tubular form of heating element is immersed inthe water in the tank and secured to the body of the tank, or acirculating pipe in which the water is passed has an electric heatingelement wound therearound.

The present invention aims to greatly simplify the application of awater heater to a water system and the present invention in itspractical form comprises a. band I preferably formed of sheet metalwhich may be simply a strip of galvanized iron having its endspreferably turned outwardly in a return bend to form the meeting flanges2 and 3. The band is intended to closely encircle the tank 4, and theflanges 2 and 3 are securely clamped by screws 5.

The flange 3 is preferably formed with a slot 5 extending inwardly fromits outward edge, and in this slot is inserted the squared portion 1 ofa bolt 8, the head 9 of which fits between the flanges 2 and 3.

The band I is preferably formed with a, plurality of lugs Ill punchedoutwardly therefrom and arranged close to the upper and lower edges.

A strip II of sheet metal, similar to the band I, and of slightly lesserwidth, is fastened at one end to the band I and is provided at its endadjacent to the flanges 2 and 3 of the band I with a return bend forminga flange I2. This flange is slotted to receive the bolt 8 by means ofwhich the metal strip II may be drawn tightly against the band I.

Inserted between the band I and the strip II is a flat insulated memberformed of a pair of flat sheets I3 and I4 of suitable heat-conductinginsulating material such as mica, and be tween these sheets are arrangeda pair of narrower longitudinal sheets or strips I5 around which arespirally wound the thin, flat heating element lengths I6.

Suitable terminals to these heating elements are arranged at the end ofthe insulating member between the flanges 3 and I2. Suitable wiring maybe connected to these terminals to lead to a suitable control switch.

After the heater band described has been placed upon a tank and drawntightly into position it may of course be covered on the outside withany suitable form of heat insulating covering, and it will be seen thatthe heat generated by the element IE will be applied directly throughthe enclosing band and the wall of the tank so as to heat an extremelylarge area of the tank surface. Consequently a very quick exchange ofheat will be eifected and consequently the water in the tank will beheated rapidly.

Any desirable number of these bands may be applied to a tank in order toobtain very rapid heating of a large quantity of water if desired and ofcourse in applying this heater to a tank it may be applied at anysuitable or desirable position in the length of the tank.

What I claim as my invention'is:

1. An electric tank water heater comprising, a flexible metal bandadapted to embrace a tank and having flanged ends, means adjustablyconnected to the flanged ends of said band to tighten same about thesurface of the tank, an adjustable flexible metal strip having one endrigidly con; nected to said band, a flat flexible removable electricheater element interposed beneath said 3 flexible strip, and means fortightening the other end of said flexible strip to securely embrace saidflexible heater element.

2. An electric tank water heater comprising, a flexible metal bandadapted to embrace a tank and having flanged ends, bolts connecting saidflanged ends to secure said band tightly to said tank, an adjustableflexible metal strip having one end connected to said band and extendingpartly around said band, a flat flexible removable electric heaterelement enclosed between insulating sheets interposed between theoutside of said band and said strip attached to said band, and a boltsecured to said band and detachably connected to said electric heaterelement holding strip.

3. An electric tank water heater comprising, a flexible metal bandadapted to embrace a tank and having flanged ends, means adjustablyconnected to the flanged ends of said band to tighten same about thesurface of the tank, an adjustable flexible metal strip having one endrigidly connected to said band and having the other end flanged, a flatflexible removable electric heater element interposed beneath saidflexible strip, and a bolt extending through one of the flanged ends ofsaid band and through the flanged end of said flexible strip fortightening said strip to securely embrace said flexible heater element.GEORGE P. DOWE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

